Correction: This article was updated on Feb. 4 at 3:25 p.m. It had stated that Andrew Smith lived with his wife in the Bronx. The couple lived in California at Smith’s Fort Irwin Army base.
A Rye Neck High School graduate who was on active duty with the U.S. Army is dead at the age of 27, murdered allegedly by a fellow soldier while stationed in Southern California.
Spc. Andrew Smith was found injured by military police at his residence at the Fort Irwin National Training Center on Oct. 28, 2024. Police took him to Weed Army Community Hospital where he later died, according to the Army.
The following day Spc. George Conejo, 26, was arrested for the killing and charged by the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Council on Nov. 20, 2024, the Army said. Smith and Conejo both worked in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment as a utilities equipment repairman and a construction equipment repairman, respectively.
Conejo, who’s from Fontana, Calif., was transferred to the Naval Consolidated Brig in Miramar, Calif., and remains there until a preliminary hearing is scheduled. As of Wednesday, his preliminary hearing had not been scheduled, according to an Army spokesperson.
The Army has not specified how Smith died or if the men knew each other, and declined The Record’s request for additional information.
The training center where Smith lived is in the Mojave Desert, about 120 miles northeast of Los Angeles, USA Today reported.
“Specialist Smith was loved by many and highly regarded amongst the team,” Col. Kevin Black, commander of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment said in a released statement. “As we mourn the loss of our teammate, our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow Troopers.”
Smith resided at the base with his wife Erika, and was expecting their first child this month. He also leaves behind his mother, Christine Santillan, his father, William Smith, and his sister, Lauren Smith, according to his obituary.
“I am still in disbelief and cannot understand how he could possibly be gone. Andrew was an active duty Army soldier, and was expecting his first child, a son named Luca, due in January. He was so incredibly excited to be a dad,” Santillan said in a Facebook post following his death.
A GoFundMe was set up in October to help support Smith’s wife and their yet-to-be-born child, and to “ensure their son has the life Andrew always dreamed and hoped for him.” To date, the fundraiser has raised more than $34,000 toward a goal of $100,000.
Smith graduated from Rye Neck High School in 2015 and then spent less than two years at SUNY Delhi. He joined the Army in 2021 and was assigned to Fort Irwin a year later. Brendan Nelson, Smith’s one-time middle school guidance counselor, said the military allowed him to stay physically active, continue learning, and engage in a way that better suited his learning style and preferences.
Nelson first met Smith in the seventh grade when the student enrolled in Rye Neck Middle School. Smith had moved in with an aunt and uncle in Mamaroneck, according to Nelson.
“He was easy to talk to and he was fun to talk to. He had a good soul and a good heart,” Nelson said, adding that he and another teacher affectionately referred to him as “Smitty.”
Nelson said Smith was involved in football and basketball in middle school, and added that basketball remained his favorite sport throughout his life. His obituary said he was “fiercely loyal” and loved playing video games and basketball with friends. Smith was an avid sports fan who rooted for the New York Giants and New York Yankees, and also loved animals.
“Even when he made missteps or mistakes, ” Nelson said, “you could tell it wasn’t ever out of malice or out of an intent to be mean to someone or nasty. It was just that he made a bad choice, and you could see goodness in him that shined through some of the misdeeds — so it made it easy to advocate for him.”
Christine Santillan, his mother, and Sue Deshensky, his aunt, did not respond to requests for comment.